Audubon County Republican. [volume] (Audubon, Audubon Co., Iowa) 1885-1894, 1887-02-17
DEPENDENT PENSIONS.
The President Returns the Bill with
His Objections.
synopsis OF the Message vctoins
the Dependent Pension
Rin.

sioncrs OF all classes, for whom ST., 000, 900
have been appropriated for the current
year, and for whom $S0S. 1874, 81 have
been expended from 1861 to 1896, II Is
now proposed to award service pensions
to soldiers of all the wars at the rate Of
si2 per month. II exacts only service
of three months, without requiring on.
gagement in battle or subsection 10 any
actual measures Of war The pension Is
allowed to men who have suffered no In
jury, loss or damage of any kind due to
military service, and includes those who
never reached the front at all, Tho sec.
ton of the bill allowing this pension is In
language so uncertain as to be subject To
unjust and miscellaneous application The
person seeking the pension must be suf'
fering mental or physical debility such as
incapacitatcs him from the performance
Of labor in such degree rs to render him
unable to earn support, and must do
pend on daily labor for support.
Passing on to consideration OF their
conditions, the President adds. 1T will
be observed that there Is no limitation or
definition OF the incapacitatng injury OF
ailment itself. II need only DO such q
degree Of disability from any cause as
renders the claimant unable to earn
support by labor, II seems 10 me that the
support here mentioned rs one which
| cannot be earned isa complete and entire
support with no dimuntion on account OF
the least impairment of physical or men
tai condition. II II had been intended to
embrace only those who by disease or In
Jury were wholly unable TO labor, II would
have been very easy to express that idea,
instead of recognizing, as is done, de-
gree Of such inability"
And then II asks; 'What Is q supportH
Who Is to determine whether man earns
II or has IL, or has II notp The govern
ment to enter the homes OF claimants for
pensions and after an examination Of their
surroundings and circumstances settle
those questionsS Shall the government
Jay to one man that his manner of sub
iistence by his earnings Is support, and
10 another that the things his earnings
furnish are not n supportY Any attempt,
however honest, to administer this law in
mch manner would necessarily produce
more unfairness and unjust dscrimina-
lion, and give more scope for partisan
partiality, and would result In more per-
Version of the governments benevolent
intentions than the execution of any
statute ought to permit II In the effort
to carry out the proposed law the degree
If disability us related to earnings be con.
urued for the purpose Of showing II In
my way II curtails the support which
The applicant, II entirely sound would
earn. and to which he is entitled. we enter
the broad field long occupied by the pen
| don bureau, and we recognize as the only
difference between the proposed legsla-
/ For 10
benefit of the surviving soldiers OF the
,ivil war, the incurrence In one case OF
disabilities In military service, and In the
other disabilities existing, but In no way
connected with or resulting from such
service II must be borne In mind that In
no case Is there any grading OF the pro-
posed pension. Under the operation OF
he rule first suggested, II there Is lack
IN any degree, great or small, OF the ability
10 earn such support as the government
determines the claimant should have, and
BY the application OF the rule secondly
suggested. II there Is reduction In any
1egree Of support which he might earn, II
found, he Is entitled to pension OF Sl2.
| In the latter, case. and under the proviso
If the proposed bill. permitting persons
sow receiving pensions TO be admitted TO
the benefits Of the act, do not see how
those now on the pension rolls for disabili-
Iies incurred in the service, and which dim.
inish their earning capacity can be denied
The pension provided In this bill"
Another condition required Of claim
ints under this act Is that they shall be
dependent upon their daily labor foi
mpport." Under the provisions Of this
section, any soldier, the president thinks,
whose faculties OF mind or body have be
come imnaired by accident, disease or age,
irrespective Of his service In the army,
md who by his labor only Is left ncapa'
BILE Of gaining the fair support he might
with impaired powers have provided FOL
himself, and who Is not so well endowed
with the world goods as to live without
work, may claim to participate In it'
bounty; that II Is not required that ht
should be without property, or only that
Iabor should be necessary TO his support
in some degree, nor Is IL required that he
should be now receiving support from
others. Recent observation and expert
snce constrain the president TO refer tt
another result sure to follow the passage
Of the bill There can be no doubt, ht
rays. that the race after pensions offered
by the bill would not only stimulate
weakness and pretended incapicity To-
labor. but put fertilizer premium on dis
honesty and mendacity. More than this
While cost should not be set against |
patriotic duty or the reception Of right
it'll when a measure proposed Is baset
upon generosity or motives Of charity. J
Is not amiss to mediate somewhat upoi
the expense It involves Experience, thu
president says, has demonstrated that al
estimates concerning the probable futur
cost of n pension list are uncertain ant
unreliable and always fall below the act
nal realization. and in support OF his as
sertions he says:
"The chairman Of the House commit
tee on pensions calculates that the mum
Der of pensioners under this bill would BIZ
30, 105, and the increased costs $f, 1877 100
This is upon the theory that only those
who are entirely unable to work woult
be its beneficiaries. Such was the prin
cipe OF the Revolutionary pension law o
1918, much more clearly stated, IL seem
to me- than in this bill. When the Law
Of 1918 was on its passage in Congress
the number of pensioners to be bene6tet
thereby was thought to be 374. but tn
number of applicants under the act wa
90, 297, and the number of pensions actu
ally allowed 90, 495, costing, II is reported
for the first year $1,847, 300, instead 0
$40, 900, the estimated expense for tina
period. A law was passed in 1858 for tn
benefit of the surviving widows OF revo
lutionary soldiers who were married afte
Jan /, 1900. II was estimated that the.
numbered 800 at the time Of the passag
of the act, but the number Of pension
allowed was 3.742. and the amount pait
for such pensions during the first year o
the operation of the act was $3.50, 600
instead of $24, 900, as had been estimated
have made no search for other illustra
TONS" the President adds, "and tn
above being at hand are given to shoy
that estimates cannot be relied upon Il
such cases.
| Continuing with his objections to tn
bill, the President says: IF none SHOULD
be pensioned under this bill except thos'
utterly unable to work, am satisfied
that the cost stated In the estimate re
ferred to would be many times multiplied
and with a constant increase from yea
to year, and II those partially unable 4
earn their support should be admitted :
the privileges of the bill, tho probabl